Chapter 29 #2
“My mother is the Universe and my father is her hope for the future of life, Crystal. I was born the day the Universe decided she no longer wished to be alone in the vast expanse of nothing, and she built a planet for me—and others like me—to stand on. She did make some mistakes with me and my brothers, I will admit. Realt and Saurrel are two of my brothers, by the way. I was the first hatched, Realt was third, and Saurrel was tenth. The rest from the first clutch have all passed on, as their times came to a close. I observed with interest when the Lord of the Morning fell, and I provided him with companionship as he sought to make his way in the world. I witnessed when life became free to do as it wished and broke the chains of fate—and the moment the Fates were cursed into being by humans gifted with the power of that will and the strength of mass conviction.” Yuless scowled, and he wrinkled his nose.
“I’ll admit, I became quite concerned upon finding out you are the new Weaver of Fates. But you are up for the task.”
I twitched, and piece by piece, the little details I’d acknowledged but failed to put together clicked into place—and how my idiot of a boss always managed to figure out when I needed to just take a day off or punt his scrawny little ass into the lake.
And why I’d never seen him and Yuless together, no matter how many times I’d heard someone talk about how they’d just seen the Destroyer of Georgia a few minutes prior.
Sometimes, I could be stupid.
Sometimes, I wore blinders.
And sometimes, I hid from the truth that had been laid out in front of me if only I cared to see it.
I raised a hand and covered my mouth, wondering how I’d handle the impending consequences of my choice to refuse to see what had been right in front of me. “Well, shit.”
He raised a brow. “Is there a problem?”
“I was not prepared to deal with sleeping with my boss today.” I stared at him, unable to stop my eyes from widening. “I don’t have to stop sleeping with my boss, do I?”
He burst into laughter. “No, but I will admit, I was really becoming concerned you hadn’t called me out yet.
I was certain there was no way you could possibly be that clueless.
Lucifer kept telling me you are, in fact, that clueless.
But you were happy being clueless, so I left it alone.
I figured you would talk to me when you were ready. ”
“I was waiting for you to talk to me. But then I realized if I wanted the talk, I really needed to start the conversation, especially since I’ve been sitting on the whole lifespan issue. Or, in actuality, I’ve been steadfast in my determination to ignore the problem.”
“It’s not a problem.”
I considered him, scowling over his general amusement. “Can I still punt my boss’s tiny, scaled ass across the lake?”
“If I’m showing up as a dragon, and I am of size sufficient for you to punt, I see no need to rob you of your joy.
However, I’m going to insist you take good care of me at night.
I am quite pleased with my evening activities and accommodations.
However, I’m going to insist you come into the castle and see what I’ve done with the place, as the castle is your home as much as this is, and you get a say in the renovations.
The others have been helping. Unfortunately, this does mean we’re going to have to go help them with their castles.
I’m the only one with an actual castle right now. ”
I sucked in a breath. “Are their nodes really in as bad as shape as yours was?”
“They’re worse off,” he admitted.
I heaved a sigh. “Fine. I’m charging one excellent horse of good breeding from a line different from any I already own. Thoroughbred. They can help me work on my project to breed healthier horses.”
“That’s cheap.”
I snorted. “They can give me a single treasure from their hoard in addition to the horse.”
“That’s better, but that’s still cheap.”
“I know what Lucifer is trying to do, and because I want to see that for him, I would do the work for free, Yuless. My ask is a good thoroughbred of healthy breeding. Lucifer can help them locate such horses. I can’t help all horses, but I can help this breed, which I love.”
“Yes, you do. So, you don’t mind who and what I am?”
“If I minded, I wouldn’t be requesting we move to the clothing off portion of this discussion sooner than later. Do you mind who and what I am?”
“Mind? I do not mind. In fact, I love you for it.”
“Then we’re on equal footing. I’ve had enough serious talk for now. I need time to think about it, and I don’t want to spend that time right now. Get naked and distract me.”
With a low chuckle, he went to work escaping the confines of his clothes. “As you wish.”
* * *
The trip to New York went without incident, although it turned into a parade of three trucks and trailers, and one was Lucifer’s ridiculous rig, which Malcolm drove with Kanika in the cab. Isaac drove Yuless’s truck with my smaller trailer, and he had Ashley and their two dragons with him.
Thirty-nine dragons followed by air, and some of them had opted for their large forms, drawing attention everywhere we went. To make certain everything stayed safe at home, I suffered from a devil and demon infestation, which three angels monitored to make certain I came back to an intact property.
In good news for me, I’d be staying at one of Lucifer’s nearby properties in my trailer with Yuless while everyone else went to a hotel.
As I had trust issues, we would be hauling Elegance in Moonlight and his two emotional support ponies to the track in the morning, where he’d undergo all his vet checks while I dealt with angelic verification yet again.
Alligator Bait stayed at home, where she enjoyed pampering from the various hellish and angelic entities in charge of making certain she was in the peak of her health for her races.
According to the current standings, I needed to place top three in two qualifiers to make it to the Triple Crown.
If I could pull off two wins, I’d stack the remaining field in my favor.
I would be competing against the better jockeys, including Alex Dryden.
Like me, he required very little to qualify on points earned on his colt, a stallion prospect I admired for a tenacity almost equal to Alligator Bait’s.
Unfortunately for me, the pair was too closely related for me to pursue him as a stud.
They shared two of four grandparents, and I refused to add to the breed’s genetic woes.
Lucifer’s ranch would keep my baby safe enough, and I didn’t trust his previous owner to stay on the straight and narrow. The bastard had earned his expulsion, but men like him tended to blame the revealer of the sins rather than themselves.
The situation with my old work, which involved weekly demands I abandon my dragon for their shitty work conditions, irritated me—and made me wonder what I knew that held so much value.
Bit by bit, Yuless chipped away at their firm, stealing a good employee here, rerouting a lucrative contract there, but he worked as Mr. Durant, taking care to mask where he lived and who worked for him.
My old bosses still believed Lucifer was my sole employer.
Once settled in the trailer for the night, Yuless considered me with a frown. “Race jitters or something else?”
Race jitters tended to leave me pacing and in need of distraction. Yuless had, rather rapidly, learned to take off his shirt and be the distraction. Those nights he tended to be the one leaving me worn out, allowing me to sleep.
Alligator Bait tended to relax, as she understood the next morning would be her time to shine, and she behaved right until the gate opened and she could run.
With luck, I wouldn’t make any mistakes with Elegance in Moonlight, who had learned he would receive a spa day worthy of a king if he outraced the wind. Even when he didn’t, he received his spa day, an activity he loved almost as much as my filly did.
I sighed. “I wish it was the race jitters, but I’m worried about my old firm.”
Yuless wrinkled his nose. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve gotten a nibble from that financial officer you want.
He’ll be near Churchill Downs in time for the Kentucky Derby, so I lured him with tickets.
He doesn’t know he’ll be in our winner’s circle suite watching you crush your enemies.
I will talk with him, and he’ll leave before we meet up to make certain nobody realizes what’s going on. ”
I rolled my eyes. “Some of them are enemies, but I actually like Alex when we’re off the track.
He sends me pictures of his project horses.
It turns out one of the mares was in foal and nobody knew it.
They hadn’t tested her because she’s not even two.
He actually dished out for an archangel to monitor her pregnancy. I respect that.”
“I know. I don’t even mind him, but the others are assholes who deserve to be crushed beneath the hooves of your horses.”
I engaged him in a staring contest. “You’re just mad they gave me the bucket on the fifth race with Alligator Bait.
I don’t even know why they gave me the bucket, but I do know Alex was behind it.
Apparently, they were making up for my Iroquois Stakes victory, as he felt I should have been given the bucket then.
I’ve been put on notice. I’m getting the bucket again tomorrow should I win.
This time, Maxwell Firo is behind it because he’s pissed I got accused of illegally whipping my horse.
He has warned me he will be bringing numerous gallons of whipped cream so I can experience what it’s like to be whipped. ”
With a low snicker, Yuless went into the kitchenette to pour himself a drink. “I’d offer you one, but you don’t get to drink before you drive. You’re not fond of Firo, right?”
I nodded. “He absolutely will beat his horses if allowed. He’s passionate about racing, but he doesn’t care if he hurts the horse with his whip.
At most, I tolerate him; he does care about the other jockeys, and I’ve seen him throw a race rescuing a runaway the outriders couldn’t catch.
Fortunately, it was a low point race, he was positioned poorly, and the owner and trainer weren’t angry over it.
I’m just glad I wasn’t in that race. I would have tossed the race, too—and I can’t afford to toss any races.
That Harthing bastard hasn’t given up on being an owner yet, and until he does, I need to crush him.
Ideally, I’ll grab the win on the Breeder’s Cup tomorrow.
Lucifer says that’ll be the nail in that bastard’s ownership career.
If he sees he failed to take two horses to the winner’s circle, he’ll go to breeding and leave it to breeding.
That’s good for thoroughbreds, because he’s good at that.
He treats his breeding horses much better than his racers. ”
“Well, Elegance is as ready as we could make him. Will you win? I don’t know. All I do know is that you’re going to give it your best. Are you sure I can’t eat Harthing? I feel eating him is appropriate. Will anyone actually miss him?”
Dragons. “You can’t eat him. However, if anyone tries to grab me outside of my house again, you can eat them—or skewer them and toss them into the lake to feed my babies.”
Yuless spent a rather long time considering his options. “Feeding your babies earns me some of their regard, so they may nip me less when I earn being punted across the lake. As I enjoy when you bristle and get cranky over how I’ve made your life difficult, I foresee being punted daily.”
One and all, dragons were the definition of what it was to be insane.
Old age must have impaired the Destroyer of Georgia for him to stoop to being punted at least once a day.
That I was the one doing the punting made his insanity tolerable.
“I told you there was no chance in hell you were going to conquer me, by the way. I was right. At least I can tell Lucifer he was wrong; it’s not actually two men if the two men are the same being. ”
“Well, he is the Lord of Lies, and he does lie whenever the situation benefits him. Misleading people is more his speed, though. When he misleads, his targets get less cranky about it. Since you’re still holding the destruction of your barn over his head, he’s trying not to make you extra cranky.”
“If he’d just told me it wasn’t sound, I would have at least taken my tack out of the barn first!”
“He wanted to get you new tack. But that might be why he dumped the damned barn on my head.”
“It’s a good thing you’re pretty durable. I would have been sad to be out my groom and my boss in one fell swoop.”
Yuless eyed me. “Which type of groom do you mean?”
“Both if you’re really nice to me.” I eyed him back. “I play for keeps, and I have no intention of losing.”
“I have noticed you hate losing, even when you place top three.”
“Top three is not the best, and I resent they rode better races than me. My horses are perfection and cannot be blamed for their placement.”
The Destroyer of Georgia dared to laugh at me. “Let’s make a wager, then.”
“What sort of wager?”
“Should you win tomorrow’s race, I shall accept your proposal to me with grace.
Should you place in any position other than first, you shall accept my proposal to you with grace.
And should you win, you will not even need to kneel, present a ring, or do anything other than express interest in such a ceremony.
We can even battle by the lake over who will pay for it, and I will do so while an excellent size for punting, as you will surely wish to express your frustrations with my ability to argue over how I should pay for an elaborate and extravagant ceremony.
I have never wed before, and I wish to be a proper dragon about it, as is my right as the eldest.”
The damned dragon would drive me crazy, but I worried I’d like the journey despite losing what remained of my mind.
“Should I win, you shall present yourself at the winner’s circle, as is proper, to be commanded and conquered and forced into a promise of matrimony.
It will be recorded, and I will delight in all those cameras pointed right at you. ”
He laughed. “Tomorrow is going to be quite the interesting day, of that I am certain. How do you feel about a gift of the complete dismantling of your former employer as a wedding present?”
“Can I help?”
“Absolutely, but their end begins tomorrow, you mark my words.”
“I like the sound of that.”